The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. (“Beneficient” or the
“Company”), a technology-enabled platform providing liquidity,
data, custody and trust services to holders of alternative assets,
and Avalon Acquisition Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAC), a publicly traded
special purpose acquisition company, today announced that
Beneficient has delivered to Avalon its audited financials for
calendar years 2020 and 2021, along with the transition period
ended March 31, 2022, to Avalon. The audited financials for the
period ended March 31, 2022, which reflect the seventh fiscal
period of audited financials for Beneficient, reflect the Company’s
change in its fiscal year end date to March 31 to better align with
its industry’s practices.
On September 21, 2022, it was announced that
Avalon entered into a business combination agreement with
Beneficient, which, upon closing, would result in Beneficient
becoming a publicly listed company. A condition to close the
business combination agreement is the provision of Beneficient’s
audited financials for calendar year 2021. With the delivery of
these financial statements, that closing condition has been
satisfied.
Craig Cognetti, Chief Executive Officer of
Avalon, commented:
“By bringing Beneficient into the public market,
we believe we can position its innovative solutions to redefine an
industry that has historically been costly and opaque for
individual investors and smaller institutions seeking liquidity.
The delivery of Beneficient’s audited financials represents an
important step in closing our transaction and realizing our
vision.”
About Beneficient
The Beneficient Company Group, L.P.
(“Beneficient”) provides a unique suite of simple, rapid, and
cost-effective liquidity solutions and other custody, trustee and
fiduciary services for owners of alternative assets. Beneficient’s
liquidity solutions are available for most types of professionally
managed alternative asset investments and can be customized to suit
individual circumstances. Serving as a principal by using its own
balance sheet, Beneficient operates as a permanent financial
institution that helps to remove many of the traditional barriers
to liquidity faced by mid-to-high-net-worth individuals and
small-to-mid-sized institutions.
Through June 30, 2022, Beneficient has financed
transactions that delivered liquidity of approximately $1.1 billion
in net asset value of alternative assets, including approximately
$383 million in the previous 12 months. Recently, Beneficient
launched the second version of its AltAccess fintech digital
platform, which was developed to provide alternative asset
investors the security of receiving liquidity over a cyber secure,
centralized liquidity payment consideration platform.
Beneficient is also a mission-driven company
that is focused on helping the local communities it touches.
Beneficient customers have already designated more than $15 million
of assets and cash in the aggregate to the Kansas Department of
Commerce, the Kansas Economic Growth Trust and the Beneficient
Heartland Foundation, each of which is dedicated to rural economic
development in Kansas. Beneficient continues to seek out
opportunities to give back to the local communities in which it
operates.
For more information, visit
www.trustben.com.
About Avalon Acquisition
Inc.
Avalon Acquisition Inc. is a blank check company
whose business purpose is to effect a merger, capital stock
exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or
similar business combination with one or more businesses. Avalon is
led by Executive Chairman Don Putnam and Chief Executive Officer
Craig Cognetti.
Additional Information and Where to Find
It
In connection with the proposed transaction,
Beneficient will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-4 that will include
a proxy statement of Avalon and a prospectus of Beneficient, as
well as other relevant documents concerning the proposed
transaction. INVESTORS, SECURITY HOLDERS AND OTHER INTERESTED
PERSONS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE PROXY
STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE TRANSACTION WHEN IT BECOMES
AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS
WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE
THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Avalon stockholders will
be able to obtain a free copy of the proxy statement/prospectus, as
well as other filings containing information about Beneficient and
Avalon, without charge, at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov).
Copies of the proxy statement/prospectus can also be obtained,
without charge, by directing a request to Avalon Acquisition Inc.,
2 Embarcadero Center, 8th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111.
Participants in
Solicitation
Avalon and its directors and executive officers
may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from
Avalon’s stockholders with respect to the proposed business
combination. A list of the names of those directors and executive
officers and a description of their interests in Avalon is
contained in Avalon’s final prospectus related to its initial
public offering dated October 5, 2021, which was filed with the SEC
and is available free of charge at the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov. Additional information regarding the interests of such
participants will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus
for the proposed business combination when available.
Beneficient and its general partner, members of
the board of directors of its general partner and its executive
officers may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation
of proxies from the stockholders of Avalon in connection with the
proposed business combination. A list of the names of such
directors, executive officers and general partner and information
regarding their interests in the proposed business combination will
be included in the proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed
business combination that will be filed on Form S-4 when
available.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication does not constitute (i) a
solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to
any securities or in respect of the business combination or (ii) an
offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a
recommendation to purchase, any securities of Beneficient, Avalon,
the combined company or any of their respective affiliates. No
offering of securities shall be made except by means of a
prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom, nor shall any
sale of securities in any states or jurisdictions in which such
offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration
or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction
be affected. No securities commission or securities regulatory
authority in the United States or any other jurisdiction has in any
way passed upon the merits of the business combination or the
accuracy or adequacy of this communication.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this
communication that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by
words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,”
“anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,”
“predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and
similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or
trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, certain
plans, expectations, goals, projections, and statements about the
benefits of the proposed transaction, the plans, objections,
expectations, and intentions of Beneficient and Avalon, the
expected timing of completion of the transaction, and other
statements that are not historical facts. These statements are
based on information available to Beneficient and Avalon as of the
date hereof and neither Beneficient nor Avalon is under any duty to
update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this
communication to conform these statements to actual results. These
statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not
identified in this communication, and on the current expectations
of the respective management of Beneficient and Avalon as of the
date hereof and are not predictions of actual performance. These
forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes
only and are not intended to serve as and should not be relied on
by an investor or others as, a guarantee, an assurance, a
prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability.
Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to
predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and
circumstances are beyond the control of Beneficient and Avalon.
These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks
and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in
domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political, and
legal conditions; the inability of the parties to successfully or
timely consummate the proposed transaction, including the risk that
any regulatory approvals or the SEC’s declaration of the
effectiveness of our prospectus/proxy statement are not obtained,
are delayed or are subject to unanticipated conditions that could
adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of
the proposed transaction or that the approval of the requisite
equity holders of Avalon is not obtained; failure to realize the
anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction; risks related to
the rollout of Beneficient’s business and the timing of expected
business milestones; the effects of competition on Beneficient’s
business; the amount of redemption requests made by Avalon’s
stockholders; the ability of Avalon or Beneficient to issue equity
or equity-linked securities or obtain debt financing in connection
with the proposed transaction or in the future; and those factors
discussed in Avalon’s final prospectus dated October 5, 2021 under
the heading “Risk Factors,” and other documents Avalon has filed,
or will file, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or
our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ
materially from the results implied by these forward-looking
statements. There may be additional risks that neither Avalon nor
Beneficient presently know, or that Avalon or Beneficient currently
believe are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to
differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In
addition, the forward-looking statements reflect Avalon’s and
Beneficient’s expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events
and views as of the date of this communication. Avalon and
Beneficient anticipate that subsequent events and developments will
cause Avalon’s and Beneficient’s assessments to change. However,
while Avalon and Beneficient may elect to update these
forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Avalon and
Beneficient specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These
forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a
representation of Avalon’s and Beneficient’s assessments as of any
date subsequent to the date of this communication. Accordingly,
undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking
statements.
Contacts
For Investors:
Beneficient Investor Relationsinvestors@beneficient.com
Avalon Acquisition Inc.investors@avalonspac.com
For Media:
Longacre Square PartnersDan Zacchei / Greg Marose
beneficient@longacresquare.com
Avalon Acquisition (NASDAQ:AVAC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2024 to Aug 2024
Avalon Acquisition (NASDAQ:AVAC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2023 to Aug 2024